It would be interesting to see how many people bet on both Canada and the U.S.A. being entirely absent from the final four. Given the circumstances, namely the NHL refusing to allow its players to participate in the Olympics, the number is probably higher than intuition would suggest, but for the first time since the 2006 Turin Winter Games, the Canadians and Americans will not see the podium for Olympic ice hockey on the men’s side.
For Montreal Canadiens fans, the elimination of Sean Farrell (U.S.A.) and Frederik Dichow (Denmark) in the quarter-finals makes the upcoming medal round less of a point of interest. Farrell especially would have been a treat to watch in a medal game, if only to see if he could recreate at least part of his five-point success against China from early in the tournament.
Even with that element removed, we’re still guaranteed to see some good hockey.Europe’s finest will be going face-to-face, and we’re here to let you know all about it.
Bronze Medal Game: Sweden vs. Slovakia
How to watch
Puck drop: 8:10 AM EST / 5:10 AM PST
in Canada: CBC (English), TSN (English), RDS (French), Sportsnet (English)
In the United States: NBC
Live stream: CBC, NBC (Peacock), RDS Direct, Sportsnet NOW, TSN Direct
Team Slovakia’s Patrik Rybár and Team Sweden’s Lars Johansson should be the game’s starting netminders for the Bronze Medal Game, with both leading their team in overall stats and playing some very good hockey to keep their respective teams in the tournament.
Team Slovakia’s Simon Nemec (#7) and Juraj Slafkovsky (#20) are the only two draft-eligibles to make their way onto their national team’s Olympic roster. Slafkovsky especially has taken this tournament in full stride, as he sits tied for the tournament lead in goals with five to his name in six games. He’s tied for fifth tournament-wide in points and leads his team so far, despite not having an assist.
Petar Cehlárik (#34) and Marian Hrivik (#27) follow closely behind with three and four points, respectively, and will be looking to make their mark on this game and secure a spot on the podium for Slovakia after losing 2-0 to Finland in the semifinal round.
The Swedes will rely on former NHLers Lucas Wallmark (#23) and Anton Lander (#58), who both sit tied with Slafkovsky with five points despite playing one less game. After getting knocked out in the semis by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) in a 2-1 shootout loss, the Swedes will look to their experience to get the edge on the Slovaks.
Gold Medal Game: ROC vs. Finland
How to watch
Puck drop: 11:30 PM EST / 8:30 PM PST
in Canada: CBC (English), TSN (English), RDS (French), Sportsnet (English)
In the United States: NBC
Live stream: CBC, NBC (Peacock), RDS Direct, Sportsnet NOW, TSN Direct
The Russian Olympic Committee will likely rely on Ivan Fedotov, the 25-year-old netminder from CSKA Moscow who has been lights-out for the team so far. Standing at 6’8”, the Philadelphia Flyers’ seventh-round pick in 2015 will try to maximize his chances of landing an NHL contract in the next year or two. On the Finns’ side, the most likely starter is Harri Säteri, who will try to maintain his ridiculous .965 save percentage and 1.00 goals-against average.
After Team ROC edged out the Swedes in the aforementioned shootout win, they set themselves up for an interesting Gold Medal Game against the Finns, with both teams featuring former Habs players and a plethora of players of all ages with either former NHL experience or future NHL hopes.
Former Canadiens legend Nikita Nesterov (#89) is the former Hab to watch on ROC’s side, as he sits tied for eighth tournament-wide in defenceman scoring with three points, and his two goals are tied for first among Olympic blue-liners as well. This is a Russian side that’s had trouble finding any singular player to lead their squad in scoring, with very few multi-goal performers so far and an evenly spread-out performance.
Among other former NHLers in the ROC roster, we find Nikita Gusev (#97), Anton Slepyshev (#58) and Mikhail Grigorenko (#25), who have a combined 448 games of NHL experience.
Team Finland hosts Joonas Nättinen (#28) as a former Hab, as well as former NHLers Valtteri Filppula (#51) and Leo Komarov (#71). Filppula especially has seen his fair share of glory days with the Detroit Red Wings, and who could forget Komarov’s All-Star appearance in 2016?
However, none of those three lead their team in scoring. Those duties are handled by the Salavat Yulayev duo of Sakari Manninen (#65) and former NHLer Teemu Hartikainen (#70) who lead the way with seven points each, which also happens to represent the tournament scoring lead.
As Finland looks to continue their loss-free record at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, the Russians will attempt to put constant pressure on the Finns’ four lines and three defence pairs, while the Finns in turn will use their firepower up top to seal the deal. It’ll be an interesting battle of team builds; will the hammer or the spear prevail?
You can join in on the action by making your picks for the teams that will advance through to the gold medal game at DraftKings.
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